membership registration in polling units across the country.
However, the exercise started on a shaky note as registration
materials arrived in most of the centres late.
Investigations however revealed that while there were individuals
willing to register, they could not do so because a number of the
polling units are located in public schools.
For instance, some polling units located in Wuse, Kubwa and Garki,
Abuja could not be used because schools were in session.
One of those affected, Mallam Abdulkadir Abubakar, said, "As you know,
there is a polling unit at the primary school in Phase III, here in
Kubwa. I was there and there was no sign anything would happen because
children were in school."
He explained that he and others who were faced with a similar
challenge would take the matter up with the party's interim officials
at the ward level.
A similar scenario played out at the Government Secondary School
located in Area 10.
A would-be APC member, Mr. Pius Osareimen, said he could not register
because he neither saw any party official nor found a registration
unit since the school which served as a polling unit was in session.
When contacted, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed said, "Registration is going on very fine; there
may be some states where some minor hitches may have been noticed.
"However, overall the exercise is going on well. Remember, it is just
the first day."
In Adamawa State, Governor Murtala Nyako registered at Hammanyero 'A'
polling unit in Mbilla Ward of Mayo Belwa Local Government at 11.30am
on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Press and
Public Affairs to the governor, Ahmad Sajo, which was sent via
electronic mail toThe Metro.
Speaking shortly after the exercise, Nyako said with his registration
as a card-carrying member of the APC, "all talks of his return to the
PDP have been effectively foreclosed."
In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, a former acting National Chairman
of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, said the APC
would defeat the PDP in the 2015 elections.
In an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday, he claimed
that the APC had been widely accepted by Nigerians.
In Edo State, registration of new members into the APC began amid
complaints of late arrival of materials.
The state Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, however, lauded the
strategy adopted by the party to ensure that only genuine persons were
registered.
Speaking from Urhomehe, in Oriomwhon Local Government Area, where some
party members expressed displeasure at the delay in the arrival of
materials, Odubu said, "The beauty of this exercise is that nobody can
import, infiltrate or hijack the it.
"The party has said that to be eligible for registration, you can only
be registered at your polling units where you were registered as a
voter. This will ensure that the party has a database of all
registered voters in any national election."
Also, a former secretary to the state government, Osagie Ize-Iyamu,
expressed confidence that the five-day registration exercise would be
a huge success.
He described the initial hiccups as the teething problems that were
not unexpected.
In Ogun State, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, said that the party desired
to register an estimated 400,000 members during the exercise.
Amosun and his wife, Olufunso, registered at the Ajura Ward in
Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area.
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